


Flashing Lights

by navibot



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Festivals, Fluff, If Akira reached out more, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Romance, Slow Dancing, Some Humor, and akira is here for it, goro is learning how to open up, ponytail!goro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:01:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23170627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/navibot/pseuds/navibot
Summary: Sometimes, dignified and ambitious people like Akechi Goro needed a break from the stresses of life.Sometimes, overly curious and unconventional people like Kurusu Akira needed those dignified individuals to jog his interest.And sometimes, that had to be resolved by the two confiding in each other for a whole evening.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 11
Kudos: 142





	Flashing Lights

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally inspired by a tumblr post from the user @aryll on Tumblr. You can find it [here.](https://aryll.tumblr.com/post/173966089775/hes-probably-been-awake-for-32-hours.com)
> 
> It's completely up to you when this fic is set, though it makes the most sense during the timeline where Akira only first starts out as a phantom thief. The whole concept of this story was to explore the vulnerability both these characters are capable of if Akira had only reached out just a little more.
> 
> Either way, please enjoy!

“Thank you for the food.”

Akechi’s face brightened towards the waitress who carried their meals, his same signature smile that Akira would constantly notice on TV. The lady was startled by his kind remark and subtle smirk, stuttering a, “you’re welcome,” and kindly removing herself from the two boys’ presence. It seemed like a reaction he experienced quite often.

Spending the entire evening with Akechi at such short notice was the last thing Akira had anticipated. He didn’t mean to find himself laying on the bed and pointlessly grinning at the other’s texts, to then sharing a phone call with Akechi’s voice sitting closely to his ear - nor did he expect to hear the words “Shall we?” come out of his mouth when Akira mentioned a nearby diner in the middle of their call. Akechi had just happened to finish his work for the day a little earlier.

Originally, he and Akira would often meet out of nowhere, sharing quick conversations that included the detective’s idea of fate bringing them together and the occasional chess matches at Leblanc. Now, for some cryptic reason, fate has decided to push their interactions a little further.

“It’s been a while since I have picked up one of these,” Akechi stated, a nervous laughter found in his voice. He slowly tugged the fingers of his black leathered gloves off his hand, proceeding to pick up the burger Akira had somehow persuaded him to get.

Akira tilted his head. “You don’t eat burgers?”

“I’m not too fond of them, but... you insisted.”

They exchanged quick smiles, and Akira hoped it was in relation to the trust he had built so far with the other. As Akechi was still adjusting to his current situation, Akira took the opportunity to observe his current environment - sheltered in a corner accompanied by dim lights but still situated outside of the actual building, a warm evening breeze brushing past. The moon was slowly coming into place, an extra source of light. Akechi was eager to make sure they would find an area deserted of all people, and Akira was sure he knew his reasons.

Despite how excessively clean and refined Akechi’s demeanor presented itself, how his hair looked like it had a strict rule of at least 200 brushes a morning, or how he chuckled at interviewer’s comments when they were so obviously not funny, intrigued Akira. What is he truly like?

Sometimes, his identity reminded Akira of their personas. Except it wasn’t in the metaverse - this was the real world.

Akira had hoped to God that Akechi truly did want to learn as much about him as he did with Akechi, that he really felt like they shared a connection. After all, Akira could have sworn on all the times he saw an Akechi that defied ‘Detective Prince’ Akechi during their discussions.

Right, Akechi.

His bare fingers were now wrapped supportively around the burger in front of him and lined up with his mouth, eyebrows furrowed in a way that was remotely adorable. Then he finally widened his mouth and stuffed the slightest bit of it inside, his face in contemplative thought as he chewed. Akira was stifling a laugh - if the guy was so fond of sweets, how was a plain burger any different?

“So?”

Akechi takes a moment to swallow the remaining food. “It’s… mediocre.”

Akira lets out a snort, along with Akechi quickly regretting his response. “But don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike it! Burgers are… delectable?” he reaffirmed, though it sounded like he was questioning himself more. “Given the current situation, I’ll eat all of it.”

Before Akira can even object, the detective rookie proceeds to messily bite into the bread and drop a view strips of lettuce in the process. “Is this a competition now?” Akira spoke in an attempt to subdue a grin.

With a mouth full of food, Akechi could only respond with a muffled, “Hm?” as ash-brown hair slid onto his mouth. He made a disgruntled noise, swatting it away but soon failing all over again when new strands of hair found their way onto his face.

Akira watched this, an obnoxious laughter seeping out of his mouth but the obvious intent of wanting to help his friend dawning on him. Considering that Akechi’s hands were full and covered in the scent of that burger, Akira had no other option but to grab one of the hair ties Akechi kept in his pocket in times of dire situations.

How Akira knew about them is a different story.

He adjusted his position in his seat, almost entirely aware of how Akechi’s chewing came to a halt as soon as he felt his hair being combed back by Akira’s fingers. They laced through random strands, and Akechi hated how he just knew he could melt into the touch if he let himself. It was a foriegn touch - Akechi couldn’t think of anything else in the moment, other than sitting there awkwardly and refraining his head from leaning into Akira’s warmth.

That was when Akira also came to a halt, fingers still tangled in brown locks. “Oh, I should have asked first. Are you cool with this?”

Akechi felt dumbfounded - Akira was tying back his damn hair without hesitation. It was only a gesture out of kindness, Akechi thought. How could he decline?

Akechi simply responded with a nod, mouth still occupied with food. Then he felt those fingers in his hair brush along his scalp once again, which he was sure wasn’t even necessary. Akira was tying his hair, not giving him a head massage, damn it. There was no need to comb back those strands behind his ear so _slowly._

Akira had ought to have the most smug look on his face right now.

“Done,” he claimed, tightening the hair tie around the soft ponytail he had just created. It sat comfortably behind the extra strands of brown hair that framed the rest of Akechi’s face. He looked back up at Akira with questioning eyes, almost as if he was saying, _”does this look good? Is it okay?”_ right at him.

A pause. “You look really pretty.”

“I-” Akechi wanted to speak, but the sudden shock and remaining food sitting in his mouth wished for him to choke instead. “Oh my-... god, god _damn_ it-”

This time Akira had no intent of helping, holding back his laughter instead as Akechi finally learnt how to subdue his abrupt fit of coughs and hacks. Actually, to see Akira laughing like this was a rare sight. Akechi just wished his throat would allow him to properly take in the view.

“ _That’s_ how you conduct when someone is choking, Kurusu? You laugh?”

“That or nothing,” Akira responded, earning a playful frown from Akechi.

He could only sigh in defeat. “You really are beyond my comprehension…”

* * *

Sitting in front of him now was _the_ Detective Prince, the one who always conducted himself in a professional and noble light. Yet right now, he was chewing on a burger the size of both his hands combined, hair pulled back and crumbs surrounding his mouth as he rambled about random topics. Now Akira was _really_ questioning Akechi’s true intentions in keeping away from the crowd.

Was he that comfortable around Akira?

Though he had a burger as well, Akira wasn’t as fond of it as Akechi was. He was too busy… thinking? Thinking about Akechi. Analyzing him. Watching the way his eyes would widen and sparkle under warm dim lights when Akira replied with something remotely surprising, or how his nose would just barely scrunch when a laugh escaped his throat.

With his hair tied back, Akira could notice the faintest blush along Akechi’s skin that wasn’t visible before hand, which led to the few freckles that he would constantly take notice of each time they met. But the _hair._ Akira didn’t want to sound creepy, but to run his hands through those soft stands again-

“Kurusu? Is there something on my face?”

“... hm?”

“You were staring quite a bit. I thought…”

Whoops.

“Crumbs,” Akira quickly muttered, gesturing to his face. _Smooth one._

“Ah.” Akechi responded by sheepishly flicking off the bits of food stuck to his cheek, checking Akira’s reactions to see if he had succeeded. He gave a thumbs up, making the detective smile once more.

The sounds of excited children caught both their attention as their heads turned towards the source, catching them by surprise considering how quiet it had been in the corner by themselves. It seemed to be a relatively large family, dressed up for what seemed like a special occasion.

One child in pigtails was gripping firmly onto her mother’s hand. “I wanna see all the pretty lights!”

The mother scoffed. “What about the music?”

“No! Lights are cooler!”

As the family slowly faded out of sight, Akira turned to Akechi with eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Music? Lights?”

“They must be talking about the music and light festival taking place tonight,” Akechi responded. He leaned over the table, eyes turning melancholic as he rested his chin on the palm of his hand. “I was thinking of attending previously,” he spoke, creating circles with his finger on the table’s surface.

“...but I realized there was no point if there was no one to go with.”

Then he looked up, half-lidded eyes staring directly back at Akira’s. It was so _obvious_ what he was trying to say, so obvious that Akira was actually questioning whether it was on purpose. Yet, intentional or not, Akira still fell for it.

Fell for Akechi’s tactic or Akechi himself, he still wasn’t sure.

“Wanna go together, then?”

Akechi’s face lit up as he clasped his hands together. “Are you positive, Kurusu? I don’t want to take up too much of your time.”

“Take up as much as you want.”

* * *

A welcoming breeze greeted the two as they finally stepped outside of the diner, further accompanied by a dark evening sky that wasn’t there before they had entered. Akira took the time to observe the endless colours of lights and obscure sounds of traffic in the distance, before closing his eyes and enjoying the city’s atmosphere during the night.

Akechi also stood there, a few steps in front of him. It took him a second to decipher what Akira was doing, before also turning his head and trying to take in the view Shibuya had to offer. _Keyword: trying._

His brows were furrowed slightly, lips curled into a thin line as his calculating eyes skimmed through the sky. Sure, he was trying - but he almost seemed a bit discontent. As if he was used to the big city and had already seen it enough times. That interested Akira, though.

He wanted to know what exactly made Akechi tick.

“Enjoying the view?” Akira teased. The tone didn’t mean to sound teasing, it just somehow happened to be.

Akechi scoffed. “You can’t deny you were as well.”

“Touché.”

As they began to walk, Akira couldn’t help but notice the hair he had tied up from earlier was still resting neatly in Akechi’s strands of brown. He watched the way it ever so slightly bopped up and down at each step he took.

Considering the original reason Akira had ever tied it in the first place, it was completely unnecessary now. Akechi’s hands wore their usual black gloves again, completely free from any lettuce-filled burgers. So why did Akira make sure to stay clear of ever pointing it out, just so it could stay in Akechi’s hair?

He wasn’t lying about what he said earlier on - Akechi _did_ look pretty.

There was no way he hadn’t realised it was still in his hair - he was shown on TV interviews countless times, constantly tidying his hair that was just about _never_ tied back. Ever. Not to mention, having cameras in your face every now and then would make you inevitably more self conscious, would it not?

Akira smiled at the thought that maybe Akechi did, in fact, like what he had done to it.

“About the incident regarding my hair - I’m most grateful, thank you.”

_... Ah._

“You mean the cute little ponytail on the back of your head right now?” Akira asked, keeping up with Akechi’s pace.

He tensed up, instantly looking away. A shame - Akira would have loved to see his facial expression, though the darkness would also make it difficult. “Cute? What about this is… cute, exactly?”

“Dunno. Something, though.”

“An insightful analysis, I see.”

“Hey,” Akira playfully jabbed in response to Akechi’s satirical comment, making the latter let out a quick but genuine laugh. Not only his mind did Akira want to learn about, but his laugh - to hear more of its lighthearted genuineness.

Yeah, that would be good.

“Do you… usually let people touch your hair like that?” Akira asked after a moment of silence.

The other took a few seconds to think. “Well, people usually never try to in the first place, so that’s a rather difficult question. However, I can’t say hair touching would come so easy for me, either.”

“Oh. But you were fine with me doing it before, right?”

“For some reason, yes,” Akechi answered, twiddling a strand of long hair with his finger. “Everything is so different when you’re involved - in a positive matter, that is. I think… yes.” He paused before looking back at Akira. “I enjoy your company.”

Everything around them felt as if they had slowed for a few seconds there, however Akechi still had the intent of continuing.

“Honestly, I can see how you have the ability to surround yourself with friends who care about you. The more I talk with you, Kurusu, the more I can slowly understand the concept of prioritizing others… you’re interesting. As far as I can tell, people really do care about you.” He choked out a small but dry laugh. “I wish I knew how you did it.”

 _Well that was… unexpected,_ was all Akira’s inner monologue could fathom. It was an obvious sign that he didn’t know much about the ace detective beside him, though nothing could stop Akira from trying.

He turned his head to review Akechi’s face, though he was only met with a side profile, looking dimly at the ground below them. His eyes conveyed no particular emotion (if any at all) Akira figured, making it difficult to read his thoughts. But one thing was definitely clear - Akechi was, or at least felt, incredibly lonesome.

“You do see me as a friend, right?” was what Akira managed to conjure up.

He could feel Akechi’s body stiffen beside them as they traveled past occupied stores and the buzzing sounds of people from afar. “Well, I clearly see you as something, that’s for sure,” he responded after long thought. “You catch my eye differently, Kurusu. Whatever that may be.”

Akira winced slightly. _That was a good thing, right? It had to be a good thing._

“Then… Do you like me, at least?”

Out of the corner of Akira’s peripheral, he could have sworn the ends of Akechi’s lips were fighting off a smile. “Yes, I suppose I do. If I enjoy your company and find you interesting, I must.”

Akira almost wanted to poke fun at how Akechi nit-picked and gathered all necessary information just to understand his seemingly complicated feelings towards him, like it was some murder case. However, Akira had better things to point out.

“You like me,” he grinned, his same cocky, teasing tone arising in his voice.

Akechi scoffed, playfully hitting his hand against the side of Akira’s shoulder. “Oh, please.”

“But seriously - there are people who care about you too, Akechi,” he spoke after their laughter settled down. Akechi made no response to his comment, almost like he regretted ever opening up in the first place. “I’m kind of interested in you too, and what you have to say.”

Akechi’s head now tilted, eyes and face staring directly back at Akira's profile in question. Akira however, was bashfully ruffling his hand between the black of his unruly hair and nape of his pale neck. “I don’t really know much about you,” he continued.

“Why should you?” Akechi responded sharply, though Akira could tell he didn’t mean it in the cold way it sounded.

“Because,” Akira started, “we share this ‘bond,’ right? Like you said.”

The intense stare Akechi had on his face softened in the span of a second, dark eyes still directing their attention to the side of Akira’s fond expression facing the pathway ahead of them. Though the lights of the city weren’t exactly bright enough to fully admire his features, Akechi could make out the shyness of Akira’s smile and the restlessness of his fingers twisting in his hair. 

But then it dawned on Akechi that no one has spoken to him the way Akira has before, including the genuineness of it all.

Goro Akechi was independent - he knew how to get a job done, was persistent in his efforts and had an ambition others could only dream of pursuing. This methodical demeanor, however, came with a price that involved Akechi keeping everyone at arm's length, a result from the vengeance he still had to implement on a certain somebody.

Yet, the longer he stared back at Akira, the more those reasons to not get closer to him wavered.

Akechi reconsidered it. He really _did_ say that before, and he agreed with it all. Fully. A part of him couldn’t help but want to let Akira into his life entirely, confide in his past trauma and overall enjoy the luxury of a human who truly didn’t bore him - someone who listened and liked him as well.

That was irrational though.

Their fingers accidentally collided, a soft brush of skin jolting Akechi out of his thoughts. It startled Akira also, making him turn and direct his eyes towards Akechi’s own. Akechi’s eyes flickered away first, making Akira chuckle in both the victory of ‘winning’ and uneasiness of Akechi’s nonexistent reply.

 _Oh, right,_ was Akechi’s embarrassing train of thought as he realized he was still yet to answer. _Damn it, damn Akira._

“I admit, I still don’t quite understand your interest,” Akechi finally started. “But I suppose… I did say that about us.”

“Let me help you understand, then.”

Akechi laughed drily. “You really are strange, Kurusu.”

“I try,” Akira winked, making Akechi grimace in reply. “Also-- just ‘Akira’ is fine.”

“Then it would only make sense for you to call me…”

“Goro?”

His eyes widened slightly to the sound of his own first name coming out of the other’s mouth, but for some quaint reason, he didn’t mind it. Somehow, Akira made his name sound so much nicer than it should be. Akechi shrugged in defeat. “Of course.”

Vibrant lights of blue and purple guided them towards their destination, along with echoing music that slowly formed into what sounded like jazz as they got closer. Not exactly what you would expect at a light festival, but the live trombone, piano and other mellow instruments put on an atmosphere that made Akira slightly giddy.

Lights were displayed almost everywhere he looked, their radiant colors contrasting with the pitch black of the night. The soft atmosphere Akira shared with Goro before was now of buzzing voices and sweet-sounding jazz, but despite all that, it was exciting and new.

Before he could turn to see Goro’s reaction, he was already lightly tugging Akira by the sleeve of his jacket, eyes scanning over the lights in awe. “Ah, I see a nice spot over there,” was all he said as he led the way for them.

Though Akira was clearly very capable of walking himself, Goro’s hand persisted to stay attached to him, until Akira watched the grip of his fingers on his sleeve slide down his arm and into his hand instead. They weren’t perfectly intertwined as a few of Goro’s fingers hesitated, but it was close enough.

Akira cringed at the feeling of his own heart speeding up in response to the sudden contact. He let his free hand search for something - anything - to fiddle with. He pushed the thick frames of his glasses upwards, then proceeded to not-so-obviously distract himself by frantically scanning the scenery.

Then he found his eyes scanning over Goro instead. The stiff demeanor from beforehand had completely subdued - instead, his lips quirked upwards into the slightest smile. Unlike Akira, Goro was more focused on the scenery around him than anything else, a coruscating array of colors reflecting in his eyes.

It took a second before Akira could process where Goro had taken them. Fewer people lurked, if any people at all. The beat of the jazz was at just the right volume - loud enough to enjoy, yet quiet enough to talk without raising your voice much.

“You sure knew where to go,” Akira mumbled out, watching as Goro’s fingers slowly released from his grip. Akira watched his now unoccupied hand flop to the side sadly.

“It just felt necessary to find a spot away from those crowds,” Goro chuckled, and Akira nodded in agreement. “Needless to say, this atmosphere is more enjoyable than anticipated.”

They both shared a stare that was slightly longer than intended, Akira figured. Yet Goro still had that same, small smirk on his mouth. Akira concluded that Goro truly was enjoying himself then, since he even started swaying to the music as it softened.

Akira didn’t want the stare to end just yet. He copied Goro’s moves, though with a little more exaggeration, earning a laugh from Goro as he watched. The music was slower this time, the type you would hear in teenage rom-coms when a couple at prom are about to slow dance together. _Slow dance…_

Akira was not sure what had gotten into him, whether it was the music that played around with his mood or the radiance of all the lights making him dizzy - but he found himself with the sudden urge to grab Goro by his hands mid-twirl and take him along.

And he did.

“I-- woah,” Goro choked out as Akira had pulled him forward into the grip of his hands, ponytail swaying behind.

Thankfully, the logical part of Akira’s brain was still cooperating, reminding him to not go too overboard or act like an absolute dumbass. He was on the verge of pulling away, apologizing to Goro and proceeding to act like nothing happened (which would only prove his dumbassery even more.)

Yet Goro was smiling and even attempting to hide it by turning away, his head bashfully shaking in embarrassment of the hysterical situation he’s found himself in. He tried to stifle a laugh by sighing to the side. “You’re ridiculous, Akira.”

The latter felt his face warm up to the sound of his name. He swayed them both to the left, finishing off the move by using Goro’s arm to twirl closely into his space. “That’s what makes me great, right, _Goro?”_

Goro appeared flustered at the sudden proximity between them. Akira wanted to poke fun at how he looked lost for words, until he realized he too didn’t know what to say. They stayed in that position for longer than planned, and Akira was convinced Goro felt his breath hitch.

The so-called detective prince used this to his advantage, placing a hand on Akira’s waist and spinning them to the right this time. “You don’t seem to understand how partner dances work, hm?”

“Oh, this is no partner dance,” Akira grinned. “It’s a competition.”

“Is it now?”

“Mhm.”

“I’ll be sure to win, then,” Goro added on, his eyes staring directly into Akira’s who could only reply with that same cocky smirk.

Though neither of them would admit, their dancing was below mediocre. Every now and then Akira would step over one of their feet, muttering a _’whoops’_ that was followed by a disappointed glare from Goro.

Their movements were only very casual as Goro’s embarrassment was clearly holding him back from going all out. Akira noticed this, making sure that his own confident demeanor was at its best. “Not staying true to your word?”

He felt Goro’s breath hitch slightly from beside him, almost as if Akira had jolted him out of deep thought. His eyes snapped back to reality, scanning over Akira’s face in apologetic confusion. “Sorry, what was that?”

Their ‘dancing’ had toned down and instead turned into a series of slow sways and turns amongst the lights. Their position had completely altered as well - Akira brought Goro closer towards him as they casually rocked from side to side, though Goro still had one hand placed lightly on Akira’s waist and the other in his hand.

“Are you alright?” Akira asked softly instead of repeating his prior comment.

"Ah…” Goro looked down, then eyed their hands that were placed in one another. “Why do you ask?”

“You looked like you were thinking pretty hard.”

He examined Goro’s facial expressions and the way he scoffed at Akira’s observation, his eyes looking anywhere but back at him. “Did I? That would be right.”

“Upset that you were losing?”

Akira’s chest was instantly met with Goro’s fist playfully punching him, an abrupt fit of laughter toppling over the two of them.

“Pft-- that’s what you wish,” Goro sighed after composing himself and letting his hand find its way back onto Akira’s waist.

They stopped talking for longer than usual that time, nothing but soft piano jazz and the muttering of crowds in the background to fill the silence. They were still swaying as if it were natural, relaxing into the touch of each other.

“I suppose you could say I was conjuring up a way to thank you for this evening,” Goro spoke, his wistful tone interrupting their mutual silence. “It’s truly been a while since I have enjoyed myself the way I enjoyed tonight.”

He stepped back a touch so he could clearly look Akira in the eye now, bodies still swaying as he finally murmured out, “thank you.”

Akira softly tightened his grip on the other’s hand in response to his words, enough for Goro to notice. “If you enjoyed it so much we could… totally do it again some other time. When you’re not busy, of course.”

Goro’s lips parted in thought, followed up with a smile not long after. “That would be a rare occasion,” he sighed, “but yes. I would like that, too.”

They noticed the tune of the music taking a turn from calm to loud and upbeat - obviously not the most ideal sound to slow dance to. Goro saw this as a cue to let go and step away, bowing at his competition.

“Well played,” he spoke cheerfully. “Then, I hope to compete again some time in the near future.”

Akira nodded, but had different ideas on how to conclude their match. He leaned down, almost placing himself on one knee but still standing upwards. With Goro’s hand still sitting in Akira’s own, he moved it in line with his mouth and added, “my pleasure,” before pressing his lips against the knuckle of Goro’s black glove.

It was only quick and soft, to the point where Akira was convinced Goro hardly felt it. However, that thought was debunked once he witnessed the expression Goro was making before him.

His brows were furrowed into what seemed like a fusion of disgust and embarrassment, but Akira found it pretty hilarious. Either way, Goro was usually unreadable - the only thing that hinted towards his current feeling right now was the crimson that painted his cheeks and ears.

“You-... _Akira Kurusu,”_ was all he could mutter underneath held back breath. “You’re a handful, you realize that, correct?”

Goro was clearly still flustered as his free hand covered his mouth, face turning out of sight of Akira.

“Yeah, that’s correct,” the latter snickered. Goro rolled his eyes and opened his mouth as if he was about to reply, before a buzzing sensation located in his pocket cut him off.

His phone lit up, displaying a series of messages that Akira couldn’t quite see. By the look on Goro’s face, however, it wasn’t something he was looking forward to replying to.

“My apologies… it looks like I’m still busy after all,” he frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose. He shoved his phone back into the pocket of his pants and sighed.

“More detective business?” Akira commented teasingly.

“Hmph, something of the sort.”

Goro slid his peacoat off and placed it over his shoulders, taking a step away but turning his head a touch just for Akira to view his side profile. His hands were placed in his pockets comfortably, the smile on his face replicating that comfort as half-lidded eyes stared back at Akira.

Though lights illuminated everywhere he could look, Akira could only focus on Goro that night. It wasn’t his intention, of course - Goro just happened to draw his eyes back to him, every time.

Yet staring back at him like this made Akira think of everything that happened all at once.

_“You catch my eye differently, Kurusu. Whatever that may be.”_

_”The more I talk with you, Kurusu, the more I can slowly understand the concept of prioritizing others...”_

_“Everything is so different when you’re involved.”_

_”You really are beyond my comprehension…”_

_It was all charming detective prince talk,_ was what Akira had initially thought. But now, looking back at Goro Akechi with the hair that Akira tucked back and his eyes smiling with him, he realised that Goro really had let his vulnerable side have a turn tonight.

“Well, we will meet again. Until fate decides our next evening together?”

Akira was too busy owning his dumbfounded look to smile back.

Fate - it was always fate. But if Goro really did enjoy their time together, he must also really believe that fate brought them together each time, as well.

Akira nodded. “Until next time.”

**Author's Note:**

> Genuinely finishing my works and even posting it is rare, but if this somehow peaked your satisfaction then consider leaving some kudos and I just might be motivated to create more. P5r is also coming out soon, so I'm pumped for that :>
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to read.


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